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Wednesday, 19 November 2014

A Sense Of Belonging Helps Weight Loss

Shedding weight isn't usually viewed as a team effort.

But a
new study makes a strong case for sharing your ups and downs with fellow
dieters who've been there and understand the battle. Researchers writing in the Journal
of Human Nutrition and Dietetics found that women who had reached their
weight-loss goals were more likely to maintain their new size if they felt
accountable to another person and received social support.

Considering how common it is for people who drop pounds to
regain it all back again, approximately half of weight lost gets put back on
within a year, write the researchers, and most dieters return to their pre-diet
weight within three to five years, the study authors decided to take a closer
look at the factors that do lead to permanent weight loss.

Researchers enrolled
23 women who had shed a significant amount of weight on a healthy diet that
involved weekly meetings offering support and motivation from other dieters.
Many of the women had gained the lost weight back, but the dieters who had kept
it off attributed their success to several things, and having a support network
they felt a responsibility to was the most crucial factor.

“Our women didn't find that accountability to themselves was
so important, but having support from others was, just having that social
support from someone who was going through the same experience,” says study
team member Catherine J. Metzgar, R.D., a graduate research assistant in food
science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois.
“What this study shows is that if you can find that one friend who has the same
goals or can just hold you accountable, it is really helpful.”

Though the
study didn't make firm recommendations for dieters, it did conclude that
weight-loss intervention programs should provide a support network.

Going it alone? Seek out friends or family who you know are
in your corner or have successfully lost weight to lean on.